Rick Brunson was ready to take Jalen Brunson from the Knicks his freshman year at Villanova

New York Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson is a Villanova legend. Was there a chance Brunson would transfer after his first season with the Wildcats?

Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, a former NBA player and current Knicks assistant coach, joined his son during an appearance on the “Come and Talk 2 Me” podcast with former NBA player, head coach and commentator Mark Jackson. There, the elder Brunson opened up about his disappointment during his first season at Villanova.

“Jay Wright was good at one thing: he would talk to me and bring me off the ledge because I thought I’d seen more, and Jay was great, he did a great job of it,” Rick Brunson said. “But I was like, ‘This isn’t going to work,’ and to Jalen’s credit, he was telling me, ‘Just relax, I can do this.’”

“You know, him saying that really made me feel better, but I always wanted more his freshman year,” Brunson continued. “But I give him credit for that, and Jay talked to me because Jay could have said, man, I’m sick of your dad and I’m sick of you, you need to transfer schools.”

This is shocking news, as Brunson ended up becoming one of the all-time greats at Villanova during his three-year college career. He was a three-year starter, was the 2017-18 National Player of the Year and, most importantly, won two national championships.

However, it’s not uncommon for players, especially young ones, to feel like they’re being underutilized. In his rookie season, Brunson played just 24.0 minutes per game and averaged 9.6 points per game, with Ryan Arcidiacono handling most of the point guard duties. Even though Brunson’s father initially wanted him on a new team, it seems like it was the right decision for everyone for him to stay.

Jalen Brunson and the “Nova Knicks”

Brunson’s legacy at Villanova extends beyond his college career. Last season, Brunson teamed up with former Villanova teammates Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo and helped the Knicks reach the Eastern Conference semifinals. This offseason, the Knicks traded another of his college teammates, Mikal Bridges, to reunite the core of Villanova’s two NBA national titles.

With this current group, the Knicks should be one of the best teams in the NBA. If Brunson had left Villanova after his freshman season, there’s a good chance Bridges wouldn’t be a Knick right now and the current team would be a very different one.